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PITTSBURG —
The MINK Collegiate Baseball League is coming to Pittsburg on Tuesday night, both for a good cause and for good baseball.
The Nevada Griffons and the Joplin Outlaws will play a nine-inning game at JayCee Ballpark, all proceeds from the gate benefiting the Tyler Jeck Memorial Foundation. Adults are $5 and students (K-12) are $3.
The Griffons and the Outlaws feature collegiate players from programs and hometowns crisscrossing the United States (towns like Punxsutawney and Effort, Pa., for example) but the most important players Tuesday night will be Pittsburg natives Stuart Jeck and Aaron Snow.
Stuart Jeck, the older brother of Tyler Jeck, and Snow grew up together and played baseball in their youth, at St. Mary’s Colgan High School, for Pittsburg Post 64 and at Fort Scott Community College. They have played many games at historic JayCee Ballpark, returning Tuesday as men.
Tyler Jeck died last July in an accident on Beaver Lake near Rogers, Ark. He just finished his freshman year at Baker University in Baldwin City, where he played baseball and made an impact on the university transcending wins and losses and performance on the field.
As of Friday, the Griffons were in first place of the South Division with a 15-12 record (despite a 3-7 record over their last 10 games) and the Outlaws 1.5 games back in second place.
Two of the leading Griffon hitters are infielders Rick Hepworth and A.J. Krist, both college graduates, Hepworth from East Central (Ada, Okla.) and Krist from Grand View (Des Moines, Iowa), both NAIA schools.
Hepworth (6-foot-7, 220 pounds) bats .351 with seven doubles, one triple and three home runs helping account for his team-high 22 RBI.
Krist hits .333 with seven doubles, one triple, two home runs and 15 RBI, both infielders wielding similar power numbers.
After playing in 16 games for the Griffons, middle infielder Stuart Jeck bats .269 with 13 runs scored, 14 hits, one double, one triple and four RBI.
On the mound, Joey Parrack (teammate of Stuart Jeck at Fort Scott Community College and West Virginia, soon of the Big 12 Conference) owns a 2-0 record with a 3.42 ERA, posting four no-decisions in five starts and six appearances for the Griffons. Parrack shares the lead in wins with Mathew Lynch, Kody McFarland and Nevada area native Ron Johnson.
Sporting a familiar last name, Lukas Schiraldi leads the Griffons with 29 strikeouts in 24.0 innings pitched despite a 1-3 mark and 4.68 ERA.
Schiraldi — a 6-4, 205-pound righthander from Austin, Texas, who just finished his freshman year at Navarro College — is the son of former MLB pitcher Calvin Schiraldi. The elder Schiraldi and Roger Clemens were teammates at the University of Texas and with the Boston Red Sox in the 1980s; Calvin Schiraldi lost both Game 6 and Game 7 of the famous 1986 World Series. Father coached son at St. Michael’s Catholic Academy in Austin.
The MINK Collegiate Baseball League is coming to Pittsburg on Tuesday night, both for a good cause and for good baseball.
The Nevada Griffons and the Joplin Outlaws will play a nine-inning game at JayCee Ballpark, all proceeds from the gate benefiting the Tyler Jeck Memorial Foundation. Adults are $5 and students (K-12) are $3.
The Griffons and the Outlaws feature collegiate players from programs and hometowns crisscrossing the United States (towns like Punxsutawney and Effort, Pa., for example) but the most important players Tuesday night will be Pittsburg natives Stuart Jeck and Aaron Snow.
Stuart Jeck, the older brother of Tyler Jeck, and Snow grew up together and played baseball in their youth, at St. Mary’s Colgan High School, for Pittsburg Post 64 and at Fort Scott Community College. They have played many games at historic JayCee Ballpark, returning Tuesday as men.
Tyler Jeck died last July in an accident on Beaver Lake near Rogers, Ark. He just finished his freshman year at Baker University in Baldwin City, where he played baseball and made an impact on the university transcending wins and losses and performance on the field.
As of Friday, the Griffons were in first place of the South Division with a 15-12 record (despite a 3-7 record over their last 10 games) and the Outlaws 1.5 games back in second place.
Two of the leading Griffon hitters are infielders Rick Hepworth and A.J. Krist, both college graduates, Hepworth from East Central (Ada, Okla.) and Krist from Grand View (Des Moines, Iowa), both NAIA schools.
Hepworth (6-foot-7, 220 pounds) bats .351 with seven doubles, one triple and three home runs helping account for his team-high 22 RBI.
Krist hits .333 with seven doubles, one triple, two home runs and 15 RBI, both infielders wielding similar power numbers.
After playing in 16 games for the Griffons, middle infielder Stuart Jeck bats .269 with 13 runs scored, 14 hits, one double, one triple and four RBI.
On the mound, Joey Parrack (teammate of Stuart Jeck at Fort Scott Community College and West Virginia, soon of the Big 12 Conference) owns a 2-0 record with a 3.42 ERA, posting four no-decisions in five starts and six appearances for the Griffons. Parrack shares the lead in wins with Mathew Lynch, Kody McFarland and Nevada area native Ron Johnson.
Sporting a familiar last name, Lukas Schiraldi leads the Griffons with 29 strikeouts in 24.0 innings pitched despite a 1-3 mark and 4.68 ERA.
Schiraldi — a 6-4, 205-pound righthander from Austin, Texas, who just finished his freshman year at Navarro College — is the son of former MLB pitcher Calvin Schiraldi. The elder Schiraldi and Roger Clemens were teammates at the University of Texas and with the Boston Red Sox in the 1980s; Calvin Schiraldi lost both Game 6 and Game 7 of the famous 1986 World Series. Father coached son at St. Michael’s Catholic Academy in Austin.
Entering Friday, the Outlaws had won four straight — a winning streak coming on the heels of a six-game losing streak.
In a relief pitching role, Aaron Snow has been impressive — a 2-0 record with a zero-point-zero ERA over 7.1 innings of work. Snow gave up one run this season, an unearned run, in six appearances.
Offensively, the Outlaws are sparked by infielder Taylor Eaves (from Arkansas-Monticello). Eaves leads the squad with a .404 batting average (36 hits in 89 at-bats) and his 36 hits include 10 doubles and a pair of triples. Eaves also leads with 16 RBI.
TYLER JECK MEMORIAL FOUNDATION BENEFIT
7 p.m., Tuesday, July 3, JayCee Ballpark
TEAM ROSTERS
JOPLIN OUTLAWS
PITCHERS
No. Player School Hometown
32 Trevor Blocker Delta State Crystal Springs, Miss.
24 Kaleb Clark Missouri Southern Baxter Springs
28 Hasten Freeman Arkansas-Fort Smith Scranton, Ark.
14 Nick Martinez Longview C.C. Kansas City, Mo.
21 Ethan Mather Crowder College Ozark, Mo.
26 Drew Milligan Delta State Olive Branch, Miss.
19 Travis Northern Delta State Cassville, Mo.
10 Chris Oldner Central Arkansas Roland, Ark.
34 Michael Sisco Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark.
20 Eddie Smith Arkansas-Monticello West Blocton, Ark.
23 Aaron Snow Pittsburg State Pittsburg
37 Jordan Spears Arkansas-Little Rock N. Little Rock, Ark.
17 Jacob Sullinger Southwest Baptist Kansas City, Mo.
35 Eric Tiefenthaler Arkansas-Fort Smith Troy, Mo.
15 Jon Woodcock Arkansas Ojai, Calif.
INFIELDERS
12 Patrick Drake Missouri State Webb City, Mo.
9 Taylor Eaves Arkansas-Monticello Beaumont, Texas
1 Jimmy Obermark St. Charles C.C. Sikeston, Mo.
27 Conor Smith Missouri State Baldwin, Mo.
3 Justin Treece Crowder College Sherwood, Ark.
OUTFIELDERS
13 Cody Ball Pittsburg State Shawnee
30 Koby Chadick St. Louis C.C. Overland Park
6 Kyle Dickens Crowder College Neosho, Mo.
7 Zack Steadman Missouri Southern Derby
33 Conner Wilson Missouri State Strafford, Mo.
CATCHERS
25 Sam Ryan Missouri Southern Lake Elmo, Minn.
16 Ben Smith Arkansas-Fort Smith Fenton, Mo.
NEVADA GRIFFONS
Roster
PITCHERS
No. Player School Hometown
5 Jake Heissler Hutch CC/CMSU Atlanta, Mo.
12 Laurent Zenoni Drury University Tulsa, Okla.
22 Tommy Bush Shippensburg State Punxsutawney, Pa.
26 Nick Ford Dyersburg State C.C. Macon County, Tenn.
29 Ron Johnson William Jewell Univ. Nevada, Mo.
30 Lukas Schiraldi Navarro College Austin, Texas
31 Parker McDaniel Kansas City C.C. Broken Arrow, Okla.
33 Kody McFarland Bellevue Univ. Sugar Bay, Idaho
34 Mathew Lynch Navarro College Flint, Texas
38 Nico Lytle Columbia Basin C.C. Boise, Idaho
4 Chris Mullins Nebraska-Omaha Oklahoma City
28 Zach Barr Central Arkansas White Hall, Ark.
55 Joey Parrack West Virginia Kansas City, Kan.
37 Martin Martinez Graceland Phoenix, Ariz.
23 John Rapose Columbia Basin C.C. Spokane Valley, Wash.
38 Matt Minnich Columbia Basin C.C. Kennewick, Wash.
CATCHERS
17 Colton Besett Navarro College Cedar Park, Texas
36 Tyler Palmer Neosho CC/Okla. State El Reno, Okla.
MIDDLE INFIELDERS
2 Stuart Jeck FSCC/West Virginia Pittsburg
6 John Ascenzia Bridgeport West Haven, Conn.
16 Eric Sousanes North Park Aurora, Ill.
18 Matt Burns Northwestern State Deridder, La.
CORNER INFIELDERS
14 Josh Samuelson Rockhurst Omaha, Neb.
20 Patrick Kregeloh Shippensburg State Effort, Pa.
25 A.J. Krist Grand View (Grad.) West Des Moines, Iowa
50 Rick Hepworth East Central (G) Round Rock, Texas
OUTFIELDERS
3 Jesse Solar Univ. of Bridgeport Marlton, N.J.
7 M.J. Sartin Missouri Southern (G) Hamburg, Ark.
8 Brad Wilson Central Missouri Jefferson City, Mo.
27 Dave Richards Kansas City C.C. Grain Valley, Mo.
9 Ryan Mansfield Central Methodist N/A
13 Justin Parrish Valley City State N/A
24 Justin Summner Lawson State N/A
